Cablevision Systems announced it is expanding its Optimum (News - Alert) Voice for business service to offer up to 12 lines per customer. What is interesting about this service is it taps an underserved market using the cable operator’s existing technology, with few modifications.

 

Cablevision has adapted its standard consumer cable VoIP service into a package for small businesses that have 12 or fewer phones and/or may be using an analog key system for phone features. Thousands of small businesses in any service provider’s area fit this description. The Cablevision scheme provides these businesses with voice service and a slate of features at a price much lower than they could obtain from legacy circuit-switched providers.

 

For $29.95 a month for each line (for four lines or more), customers receive the standard Optimum Voice package: unlimited local and long distance calling for each line, voice mail, a slate of common features including caller ID, and even advanced features, such as find-me, caller ID on call waiting, and busy redial.

 

The Cablevision offering includes none of the glitzy bells and whistles of a hosted PBX type of service: no unified communication, no softphones. However, the target market — very small businesses still using small legacy systems — likely would not purchase a hosted service. They have little use for the advanced features and are loathe to abandon a phone system that is both familiar and paid for.

 

One advantage is that the service can be tied in to existing analog key systems and can use most of the features in those systems, such as four-digit dialing between extensions.

 

The phone service can be paired with the Optimum Online cable modem service for $29.95 each per month for one year. For an additional $24.90 per month, businesses can move up to Optimum Online Boost, with a static IP address and speeds up to 30 megabits-per-second (mbps) downstream and up to 5 mbps upstream, plus access to Web site building tools.